The Hoover Dam is an impressive piece of engineering but it wasn’t until recently that we took a trip out to it – and it was well worth it.

We’d seen the dam from one of the helicopter tours of the
Grand Canyon
along with Lake Mead, (the reservoir behind the dam) but there’s nothing like seeing it up close.

Hoover Dam Facts

The dam, which was originally called Boulder Dam, sits in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River on the border of the states of Arizona and Nevada. There are clocks on the two intake towers showing the times in Arizona and Nevada.

On the tour we learned lots of interesting Hoover Dam facts, such as, the dam was finished in 1935 and at that time it was both the largest electric-power generating station and largest concrete structure in the world.

There were three main reasons for the Hoover Dam construction: to provide flood control; irrigation water flow; and hydroelectric-power generation.

Why this tour?

We chose to take a Pink Jeep Top to Bottom Tour of the dam. A plus is that they pick you up from your hotel (albeit in a bright pink vehicle) and deliver you back.

But, we decided on this tour because as well as visiting the gauging station we got to go on a raft on the Colorado River which allowed us to get up close to the dam (and take some great Hoover Dam pictures.)

Our Hoover Dam picture from the River

The whole tour took about five hours and cost $156. Sometimes Pink Jeep Tours have special offers on this trip. For further information about Pink Jeep Tours call 888-900-4480